oster



M. C. OSTER.

DOOR AND GATE OPERATING MECHAN|SM- APPLICATION FILED NOV. 19. i917.

Patented Aug. 26, 1919.

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M. C. OSTEH.

oooH AND GATE OPER/ums MEcHANusm.

PPLlCATlON FILED NOV. I9. 9ll. I1 ,$14,206. lacmcd Aug. 26, 1919.

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OF BENTON,

I'TONTANA.

DOOR AND GATE OPERATNG TJECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

llatentcd Zing. 28, 1919.

Application led November 19, 1917. Serial No. 202,777.

To all w/"Lomy it may concern Be it known that l, MATTHEW C. Os'rnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Denton, in the county of Fergus and State of Montana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Door and Gate Operating Mechanism, of which the following is a speeiication.

The present invention relates to door and gate operating mechanism, and more partieularly to that type for automatically opening and closing the door or gate during the approach of a vehicle or the like and after the vehicle has passed through the door or gate.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved and simplilied mechanism which may be applied to garages and the like for automatically opening the doors of a garage at the approach of a vehicle to be housed in the garage; and which will automatically close the doors after the passage of the vehicle into the arage.

The invention also provi es a means for quickly opening the doors upon the relatively short movement of the vehicle toward the doors, such as in backing the vehicle out of the garage, for automatically opening the doors and retainin them opened during the passage of the vehicle out of the garage.

The invention further aims at the provision of various novel details in structure and combinations of the partsfor carrying out the above objects.

The above and various other objects and advantages of this invention will be in part described and in part understood from the followin detailed description of the present preferred embodiment, the same being illustrated in the yaccompanying drawings, wherein,V

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a garage having doors, showing the application of the automatic door controlling mechanism of this invention applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged perspective view of one of the operating arms and its adjacent mechanism.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section taken substantially in the vertical plane indicated by the line 3 3 in Fig. 1 through the front wall of the garage, the doors being closed.

Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of one of the operating arms.

Fig. 5 is a detail perspective View of one of the links for connecting the arms to the doors.

Fig. G is a detail perspective view of the bell crank connector employed.

Fig. 7 is a detail perspective view of one ofthe quick operating levers employed within the garage.

Referring to the drawings 10 designates a garage or the like in which a vehicle is adapted to be housed, and which is provided with an entrance and egress opening in its frontwall adapted to be closed by a pair of doors 11. The doors 11 in the present instance are o1 the sliding type, being provided upon their upper ends with hangers 12, the rollers of which engage a track 13 fixed to the front wall of the garage 10 at the upper end of the latter. The doors are adapted to move toward and from each other on a track way, and are adapted to simultaneously move. The doors are connected to the upper and lower runs of an endless cord or chain 14 by staples 15 or the like, the cord or chain 14 being trained over pulleys 16 at opposite ends, the pulleys being arranged within the frame of the door.

The door frame is provided in opposite sides with vertical ways or grooves 17 in which t the opposite ends of a cross-beam 18, the latter forming the sill of the door and being vertically movable in the lower end of the door opening. The beam 18 is connected to the upper end of a run-way 19 which extends outwardly from the garage 10 and is shown in the present instance as comprising a pair of planks of desired width which are hingedly mounted by pins 20 to the beam 18 in spaced apart relation, and which are adapted to receive the wheels of a vehicle thereover. The beam 18 is also connected, by pins 21 to a platform 22 arranged within the garage A. The platform 22 may comprise a pair of planks arranged in longitudinal register with the planks 19, and are provided upon their inner ends with guide pins 23 adapted to seat in the flooring 24 of the garage.

Arranged upon each side of the door frame, midway between the upper and lower ends thereof, is a pair of brackets 25 having transverse bearing openings 'therethrough adapted to aline and to receive a shaft 26 which is welded or otherwise suitably secured upon one end of an operating arm 27. The shaft 26 is heldin the brackets 25 by a cotter pin 28 or the like, and a washer 29 is mounted upon the shaft 26 between the arm 27 and the adjacent bracket 25. The arms 27 at opposite sides of the door frame are adapted to extend across the inner sides of the doors 11 for a short distance, and are connected to the doors by links 30 which are pivoted at one end by a bolt 31 to the adjacent operating arm 27, the bolts 31 being secured through openings 32 arranged in the operating arms. The openings 32 may be in any desired number for adjusting the bolts 31 longitudinally upon the arms 27. The other ends of the links 30 are pivotally mounted upon the doors 11 by bolts 33. As shown in Fig. 4, one end of each link may be provided with a hollow boss 34 adapted to enter any one of the adjacent row of openings 32, and the other end of each link is provided with longitudinal spaced apart openings 35 Afor the reception of the adjacent bolt 33 to adjust the link.

Each shaft 26 has a sleeve 36 mounted thereon between the brackets 25 and the sleeve is fixed in adjusted position upon the shaft by a set screw 37. The sleeve 36 has a bell crank or segmental web 38 lextending radially therefrom and connected at one end by a rod 39 to the adjacent extremity of the beam 18. The lower ends of the segments 38 normallyextend outwardly away from the doors 11 and are adapted to be swung down upon the depression of the beam 18. The upper ends of the segments 38 are connected by rods 40 to the inner ends lof rocker arms 41 mounted on the front wall of the garage 10. The arms 4l are mounted, intermediate their ends, on pivot pins 42, and have suspended upon their opposite ends weights 43. The weights 43 are preferably mounted upon vertical rods 44 hinged to the arms 41 and adapted'to removably receive the weights so that the latter may be varied. The beam 18 has pivoted thereto a pair of levers 45 arranged below the surface level of the floor 24, the levers extendin in wardly from the opposite ends of the oor opening beneath the planksy 22 andbeing pivoted on pins 56 intermediate their ends. The pins 56 are arranged horizontally in the floor of the arage, and the levers 55 extend rearwardly t erefrom. A pair of operating levers 57 is arranged within the garageand in spaced relation to the doors 11. Pivots 58 support the levers 57 in position to swing in vertical planes and rollers 5.9 are mounted upon the lower ends of the levers a'nd are adapted to engage beneath the rear extremities of the levers 55. The levers 57 support upon their upper ends a cross-bar 60 which extends above and across the platform 22 and is of suiiicient height to be engaged by the wheels'of a vehicle when moving out of the garage.

In operation, a vehicle approaching the garage rolls up on the .platform 19 and depresses the beam 18. The beam 18 draws the rods 39 down and swings the operating arms 27 upwardly and over center into oposite position. The arms 27, through the links 30 draw the doors 11 outwardly from each other, and at the same time raise the weights 43. VVhenvthe vehicle passes into the garage and beyond the platform 22 the weights 43 swing the arms 27 toward one another and close the doors 11. When .the vehicle is to be taken out of the garage it is moved against the cross-bar 6() and the latter is swung down against the platform 22 and into a transverse depression or recess 61 formed in the platform to house the rod 60. The operating levers 57 are thus swung downwardly at their upper ends and the rollers 59 raise the rear extremities of the levers 55, which latter depress the beam 18 and operate the arms 27 to open the doors. Vhen the vehicle passes out of the garage the weights 43 automatically close the doors. The weights 43 normally draw the segments 37 in a straight line with the shafts 26 and thus exert practically no pressure upon the arms 27. When the arms 27 are swung into open position they are moved outwardly of the doors beyond the axis of the shaft 26 and the upper ends of the segments 38 are swung down into a position such that the weights draw tangentially upon the shafts 26.

It is of course understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the details 'of construction of the foregoing embodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof, such changes and modifications being restricted only by the scopeof the following claims.v

claim:

l. In combination with a building having a door opening, and a door for moving into and out of the opening, of an operating mechanism for said door including an arm pivoted on the building and adapted to eX- tend alongside said door, means for swinging said arm back and forth, and a rigid link pivoted to the arm and door operating between said arm and the adjacent side of the door and adapted toswing to opposite sides of the arm pivotal point when the dooris moved into and out of the door opening, the arm pivot and the pivot'between the link and door arranged to lie substantially in the same horizontal plane.

2. In a door operating mechanism, the combinatiOn of a wall having a door opening, and a door slidable in the wall for normally closing the opening, of a depressible platform at the outer side of the wall, a conj nection between the platform and the door for openlng the latter when the platform is depressed, a second depressible platform at.

the inner side of the wall, and vehicle engaging means arranged closely to the inner side of the wall and projecting above the platform, the said means having engagement with the connection and adapted to engage a vehicle upon a relatively short movement thereof toward the inner side of the door for opening the latter.

3. In door operatlng mechanism, the combination with a frame and a door slidable on the frame, of an arm pivoted to the frame, a link connecting the door to the free end portion of the arm, a depressible platform at one side of the door having connection with said arm to swing the latter and open the door upon the depression of the platform, a horizontal lever pivotally connected to the platform and extending from the opposite side of the door, an upstanding lever pivoted adjacent the free end of the horizontal lever, a pivotal support engaging the intermediate portion of the horizontal lever., and a cross-bar connected to said upstanding levery and adapted to be engaged by a vehicle for depressing the platform when the vehicle is moved toward said door.

4. In door operating mechanism, the combination with a frame, a door slidably mounted in the frame, and a depressible platform, of an operating arm pivotally mounted on the frame and having connec tion with the door, a bell crank connection between the arm and the platform for swinging the arm and opening the door upon the depression of the platform, means for closing the door upon the release of the platform, an upstanding lever arranged at the side of the door and adapted to drop into a horizontal position when the platform is depressed to admit the passage of a vehicle thereover, and a connection between the upstanding lever and the platform for .depressing the latter when said lever is engaged by a vehicle.

5. In door operating mechanism, the combination with a frame and a door mounted in the frame, of a depressible platform, a connection between the platform and the door for opening the latter when the platform is depressed, means for closing the door when the platform is released, a horizontal lever projecting from the door and having pivotal engagement with the platform, an upstanding lever connected to said first lever and being pivoted below the plane of the platform when depressed and being inclined laterally of its plvot, said upright lever being adapted -to fall by gravity into the plane of the platform when the latter is depressed to admit the passage of a vehicle thereover and being adapted to be engaged by a vehicle moving in an opposite direction to depress the platform.

6. In door operating mechanism, the combination with a frame and a pair of sliding doors mounted on the frame, of means connecting the doors to effect the simultaneous movement of the same from and toward each other, a depressible platform, connections between the platform and the doors for opening the latter when the platform is depressed, means for closing the doors when the platform is released, a pair of horizontal levers connected to the platform and extending from the opposite side of the doors, pivots for said levers engaging the same intermediate their ends, npstanding levers pivoted near their lower ends adjacent the free extremities of the horizontal levers and having portions projecting beneath the horizontal levers to engage the same and maintain the upright levers in raised position when the platform is released, and a crossbar connecting the upper ends of said upright levers adapted to be engaged by a vehicle approaching the doors to swing the upright levers downwardly and raise the free extremities of the horizontal levers for depressing the platform.

MATTHEW c. osTER. 

